Fitness entrepreneur and restaurant owner Pat Fellows has begun renovations to a space in the Southdowns Shopping Center that will be home to his latest Freshjunkie location. He hopes to open the restaurant in September.
The 1,200-square-foot space formerly housed a Smoothie King. He opened his original Freshjunkie location, which specializes in custom-made salads and wraps, in 2007 in the Main Street Market. In 2014, he opened a second location on North Boulevard at Town Square, but has since converted it to Somos Bandidos, an upscale taco bar.
Fellows hopes his new Southdowns location—which will feature a Greek yogurt bar with fresh fruit as well as avocado toast and small-batch coffee during the breakfast hours—will help develop a healthy lifestyle hub in the Southdowns Shopping Center, specifically, and in the Southdowns neighborhood in general.
The new Freshjunkie will be directly across the parking lot from Southfin Southern Poké and is near two gyms. Within a mile or so are several other small businesses that cater to healthful living—several boutique fitness clubs, the Salad Shop, Big Squeezy juice bar and Magpie Café.
“I’ve talked to (Southfin Southern Poké co-owner) Steven Hightower about this and we really want to make this a hub for healthy eating and healthy lifestyles,” Fellows says. “We’re trying to establish the Southdowns area as a healthy area in Baton Rouge.”
Fellows, who co-founded the Louisiana Marathon and, more recently, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon, is also working to expand his brand of healthy lifestyle choices to the broader Baton Rouge market. On Aug. 19, he is launching the first LifeJunkieFest, a fitness, food, art and music festival that will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Boulevard Town Square.
The event will kick off with a run or bike ride option, followed by free strength training and yoga classes from Higher Power, a New Orleans-based spin/yoga studio. The festival will also feature free food from local vendors, music and art at a maker’s market.
“Freshjunkie has always been about living big and promoting health and wellness, as well the arts and music,” Fellows says. “We want to add a unique festival idea to the already-established Louisiana festival calendar.”
Read a recent Business Report Entrepreneur feature on Fellows.
—Stephanie Riegel
